The Last Supper

            The death penalty is an extremely controversial and widely discussed topic in the United States. There are those who support it and those who oppose it. The authors of “The Last Meal Project” and “No Seconds” both wanted to chime in on the issue with their takes. However, both authors did so in a very unique and eye-opening way. Both authors used pictures of the last meal of various death row inmates to voice their opinions about the death penalty in the U.S. When viewing either of these sites, you will see plenty of visuals that are used to voice their opinions.

            Both of these visual projects are incredibly powerful. “The Last Meal Project” gives you a picture of the inmate’s face along with what they wanted for their last meal. However, every few pictures is also a fact about the death penalty in the United States, whether it’s how much it’s costing the people, how often it’s used, and other various pieces of information. This piece is effective in asking the question, “Is the death penalty really worth it?” By showing the faces of each inmate, as well as some facts such as “[it] is being reconsidered in 11 states because of its high cost to the state and its ineffectiveness in preventing crime,” we begin to question the validity of the death penalty, and consider the humanity of the people being murdered.

            “No Seconds” makes its case in a similar way, showing detailed images of the last meals of various death row inmates. The images in this project are much more detailed and up close, and you actually get kind of hungry looking at them. This project strikes you when you realize that these people being sentenced to the death penalty aren’t too different from us; they’re still humans. They like food the same way we do, and they enjoy a delicious meal just as much as we do. These detailed images of their last meals gives us a sense and reminds us that even though they have committed awful crimes, they’re still humans, after all.

            Both of the visual projects are presented very well and the authors make very good use of visual representations to express the human qualities of the inmates being sentenced to death. They are reminders to us that these people are still human, regardless of what deeds they’ve done. They say a picture is worth a thousand words; these visual projects beg the question, “How much is a last meal worth?”